For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ---Ephesians 6:12

"The age of casual Catholicism is over; the age of heroic Catholicism has begun. We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead must be Catholics by CONVICTION." ---Fr. Terrence Henry TOR, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Friday, January 8, 2010

As you might remember from the first time I did this, the 7 Quick Takes thing comes from Conversion Diary in which a bunch of bloggers with Catholicism in common write 7 things of interest about themselves or something in their lives. But then I don't really know if you have to be Catholic to do this. Probably not. You simply have to be one of Jennifer's readers, I guess.

Work has been slow. Very slow. I drive a semi for a living, and back in the days of prosperity (when Republicans earned their congressional chairmanships by being fiscally responsible) I would be assigned a load with lots of miles and barely enough time to deliver. Then within a few minutes of emptying the trailer, I would have to dash off to my re-load. But things are different now. My current load which was assigned to me at noon today isn't scheduled to pick up until 10pm tonight. It's 542 miles long and delivers on Monday at 5am. It was actually ready at 1pm so I went in early. That's and average of 217 miles per day on this one, as opposed to my former average of 450 miles per day in the good ol' days. Things do not seem to be improving much, except that I no longer have to wait 2 days from my delivery to my re-load assignment. And in case you haven't guessed, I get paid by the mile. *Ouch*

My cat does not like this weather at all. It isn't the cold so much, as it is the lack of humidity. With his fur all clumped up and everything made of paper or thread sticking to him, he looks kind of comical. But the static electric shock he gets when I pet him does not help his feline disposition. So each time I reach to pet him I have to lick my hand first to spare him the painful spark. And I can only do that once, lest I get a tongue full of litter box dust.

Hard times means high anxiety. And that usually leads to a recurring frequency of sin. It's very hard to get to Mass on Sundays when you're driving long haul in a big rig. But in spite of my priest's dispensation I make an attempt each week to get there, no matter where my load takes me. But even harder than that is to get to Confession, as every church does it at unique times. And most don't do it on Sundays just before Mass, though sometimes on Saturdays before Vigil. These days it has been very difficult to do both since most Catholic churches don't have truck parking for semis. I'll be going through Chicago tomorrow and staying until Sunday where a friend of mine will pick me up and take me to Mass. I am unsure if Reconciliation will be offered.

In spite of rave reviews, 13th Day has already made it to DVD. I'll have details on how to acquire a copy in my next blog post.

Last time I did the 7 Takes thing I mentioned my blood pressure issues and how hard it was to eat properly on the road, and that I found a great salsa that isn't too unhealthy. I want to add Wholly Guacamole to the list of things in which I can indulge. It comes in small packets and only has 150mgs of sodium per serving. One packet is considered a serving, though I use half of one in a sandwich wrap so only 75mgs sodium, really. And it has only 8 grams of fat (1g sat. fat) per packet (4g per wrap for me). Not bad considering 2,000mgs of sodium and 60g fat are considered the healthy limit for daily intake.

Since I don't have cable TV in the truck (or at home), my Mother likes to introduce me to TV shows I've never seen by sending me DVD's of them for Christmas and birthdays. Years ago she got me hooked on Cadfael and then later, The Closer. Now she seems bent on getting me interested in Nero Wolfe. And I like it okay. It's a bit more of a circus than a simple mystery, and looks to be more about Timothy Hutton's character than the title suggests.

1 comments:

Good stuff, Matt. I cannot even imagine the difficulties you must face both financially and in terms of being true to the faith as a long haul driver. (I had a friend I have known since junior high that was driving for England trucking for years and finally gave it up because of the difficulties involved.)

Hopefully, you will be able to hold on financially and later this year, say November time frame, we as a nation will correct some of our recent mistakes and throw out most of the foolish economy-killing Democrats and those Republicans in name only. That alone will likely help the economy and thereby the truckers that deliver the goods for us.

As for staying true to Christ as our Catholic church teaches, I have no doubts that you will remain successful in this endeavor, sir.

The 7 quick takes thing is interesting too; I will check out this blog!

Matt K Cassens

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Also, I want to add that not everyone I link to below marches lock-step with me on every issue. But I link to them nonetheless because I think they are righteous. They have taken sides in their respective battles, political and/or religious, and have chosen wisely. May you do the same.

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